Hurricane Bites

Well that post title is a double entendre, yes Hurricanes Bite, but this post is about the bites we prepared in honor of the impending storm. The thing is, this is the 3rd time in a year that we’ve had to prepare for such weather here on the East Coast and one thing I’ve noticed is that most of the food we prep is very utilitarian. This is mostly due to the fact that Mark is preparing for his kids and the masses that may end up at our doorstep. Ahh, but not this time, this time I’m preparing for myself

Of course being in the midst of fall, we’ve all got the craving for something pumpkin, so pumpkin it is. I don’t know why, but I’m on this new kick where I’d really like to try to develop my own recipes. I’m the type of gal that can look at a recipe and know if it’s going to be something I like by the ingredients, but dare to bake on my own? forget it. So, I think I’ll start with what I’m comfy with, finding a recipe I know has potential and tweaking it a bit. That’s the inception of my Pumpkin, Coconut, Pecan & Dark Caribou Chocolate Muffins.

I chose this recipe because it’s a one bowl wonder, everything gets dumped together, mixed and tossed into either a muffin pan or loaf pan. The only thing I didn’t mix in was the chocolate, I opted for sprinkling it on the top like a streusel. Bake at *325 for 35-40 minutes. Reduce time for mini muffins.

With pumpkin to spare, I grabbed my Arrowhead Mils Organic Sprouted Grain Waffle Mix and added a cup of pumpkin, a few shakes of pumpkin pie spice, a scoop of plain whey protein andalmond milk. Easy enough. I plan on topping with apple butter and Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut spread.

Lastly, every rainy day needs a soup, but I didn’t want the traditional chicken noodle, so I opted for an asian flare. It’s pretty remedial, but it definitely tastes good. Here’s what you’ll need

for the soup, 8 cups chicken broth, 5 tsp chinese five spice or to taste, salt & pepper, sliced ginger & quartered bok choy, rough part of the stem removed. Heat chicken broth, adding spices and meatballs, let cook for 15 minutes, add bok choy, cook for 5 minutes. In the meantime cook noodles according to package directions. They only take one minute, so do this last. Keep noodles separate until ready to eat.